Ceiling fan cleaning article

ABSTRACT

A cleaning article specifically adapted for the cleaning of ceiling fans generally and especially the blades thereof is comprised of an elongated dust-attractive sleeve sized and shaped to receive a conventional ceiling fan blade therein and having both interior and exterior surfaces especially adapted for removal and trapping of dust. The sleeve includes an opening through which fan blades are received, and the opening includes means for maintaining the opening in the desired shape to mitigate against prematurely dislodging dust from fan blade surfaces which would otherwise occur if the opening were collapsed during insertion of the sleeve over the blade. Closure means are provided for sealing the open end of the sleeve upon completion of the cleaning task to permanently trap dust inside.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.611662,150 filed Jun. 20, 2012 and entitled, A Disposable ConvenientDust Attracting Sleeve that can be used to Clean Ceiling Fans.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an equestrian riding saddleaccessory device for improving rider comfort and safety,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A ceiling fan is a mechanical fan, usually electrically powered andsuspended from either a ceiling or roof structure, and that useshub-mounted rotating paddles to circulate air. Ceiling fans cool peopleand animals effectively by introducing slow movement into the otherwisestill, hot air of a room or other space, to induce evaporative cooling(i.e., evaporating perspiration on the skin which cools the body).Ceiling fans are popular in a variety of settings including, but notlimited to, homes, offices, garages, commercial and industrialbuildings, hotels, restaurants, bars, livestock enclosures and outdoorstructures such as covered porches, gazebos and the like. They areespecially popular in warmer climates such as in the southern UnitedStates where they originally proved useful.

Despite the longstanding popularity of ceiling fans as a means ofcirculating air and cooling the skin, all suffer from a common problem,namely they are challenging to clean because of their mounting height.As a result, the task is often put off, sometimes indefinitely. By thetime this chore is finally attended to, dust and other airborne debrishas accumulated in a thick heavy layer which, when disturbed, is sentback into the air and onto underlying furniture, bedding, electronics,decorative items and worse yet, people and their pets. The dust can beloaded with mites that when inhaled and/or contact the skin createhealth risks including allergic reactions and sinus infections orexacerbate existing health problems like asthma. In order to mitigatethese consequences, people have resorted to wearing breathing masks,hats, various sorts of rainwear and other protective clothing and evenumbrellas during the cleaning process to shield themselves from thefalling debris. It is also not an uncommon practice to spread dropcloths or old sheets on the floor and over any furniture under the fan.Other practices have included resorting to spraying the blades beforecleaning with a solution of water and distilled white vinegar using aspray bottle to dampen the layer of dust thereby reducing its ability tobecome airborne when disturbed.

Heretofore, there have also been developed a myriad of cleaningimplements designed to facilitate the cleaning of ceiling fans includingvarious brushes, wands, dusters, vacuums and the like. While suchimplements are useful in helping to reach ceiling fan blades forcleaning, and for removing the dust therefrom, they do not prevent dustfrom falling from the blades onto the user below in the process.Although vacuums with attachments designed for this purpose exist, theyare often bulky and awkward to use and do not prevent the dust frombecoming airborne when the implement makes contact with the blade (i.e.,because the implement on contacts a small area of the blade and any onetime, dust on the rest of the blade is susceptible to becoming dislodgedand airborne).

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a ceiling fan cleaningapparatus capable of cleaning ceiling fans without the risk of the dustaccumulated thereon from becoming airborne in the process, from fallingon the user of the apparatus, and from falling on the flooring,furnishings, bedding and other objects below the fan. There is also aneed in the art for such an apparatus further capable of permanentlytrapping the dust in a sealable and disposable contain

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention meets the need in the art by providing a cleaningarticle specifically adapted for the cleaning of ceiling fans generallyand especially for removing and trapping within an enclosure dustaccumulated on the blades thereof. As used hereinafter, the term “dust”should be construed broadly to mean the small particles of organic andinorganic matter (i.e., dirt) that settle on horizontal surfaces,typically in buildings and other covered structures, together with themicroscopic organisms often found therein including bacteria, virusesand the like. The subject cleaning article is comprised of an elongateddust-attractive sleeve sized and shaped to receive a conventionalceiling fan blade therein and having both interior and exterior surfacesespecially adapted for removal and trapping of dust. The sleeve includesan opening through which fan blades are received, and the openingincludes means for maintaining the opening in the desired shape tomitigate against prematurely dislodging dust from fan blade surfaceswhich would otherwise occur if the opening were collapsed duringinsertion of the sleeve over the blade. Closure means are provided orsealing shut the open end of the sleeve to permanently trap dust inside.It should be appreciated that the exterior surfaces of the subjectcleaning article may also have utility themselves as dust attractantsand polishers. In other embodiments, the inner and outer sleeve surfacesmay include projecting members for increasing surface area and forimproved cleaning of irregular surfaces of ceiling fans.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantcomponents and features of the invention in order that the detaileddescription thereof that follows may be better understood, and in orderthat the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will bedescribed hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of theclaims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least oneembodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein are for the purpose of description andshould not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure isbased, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of otherstructures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes ofthe present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims beregarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they donot depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The abstract is neither intended to define theinvention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is itintended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the subject invention to provide acleaning article especially adapted for removal of dust from ceilingfans, the article having means for encasing a fan blade to prevent dustaccumulated thereon from becoming airborne, the article having bothexterior and interior cleaning surfaces.

It is another primary object of the subject invention to provide acleaning article suitable for use on most ceiling fan blade types andlengths.

Another primary object of the subject invention is to provide a cleaningarticle for ceiling fans, the article having dust retention means in theform of an elongated sleeve for preventing dust trapped therein frombecoming airborne.

It is also an object of the subject invention to provide a ceiling fancleaning article having at least one outer surface adapted with aplurality of dust attracting members for the more effective removal ofdust from irregular surfaces of ceiling fans.

Another object of the subject invention is to provide a ceiling fancleaning article that is relatively simple in design and thereforecapable of rapid construction at relatively low costs.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, referenceshould be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary of the invention, as well as the followingdetailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are includedby way of example, and not by way of limitation with regard to theclaimed invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional ceiling mounted ceilingfan.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a ceiling fan cleaning article of thesubject invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning article of FIG. 2 takenalong line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the subject cleaning article mounted on aceiling fan blade for removal of dust therefrom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

It should be clearly understood at, the outset that like referencenumerals are intended to identify the same structural elements, portionsor surfaces consistently throughout the several drawings herein, as suchelements, portions or surfaces may be further described or explained bythe entire written specification, of which this detailed description isan integral part. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intendedto be read (e.g., cross-hatching, arrangement of parts, proportion,degree, etc.) together with the specification, and are to be considereda portion of the entire written description of this invention. As usedin the following description, any reference to the terms “horizontal”,“vertical”, “left”, “right”, “up” and “down”, as well as adjectival andadverbial derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “rightwardly”,“upwardly”, etc.), simply refer to the orientation of the illustratedstructure as the particular drawing figure faces the reader. Similarly,the terms “inwardly” and “outwardly” generally refer to the orientationof a surface relative to its axis of elongation, or axis of rotation, asappropriate.

Before the subject invention and its advantages can be fullyappreciated, it is first necessary to understand the relevant componentsof a conventional ceiling fan. Accordingly, reference is first made toFIG. 1 in which there is illustrated a conventional ceiling fandesignated generally by reference numeral 100 and comprising an electricmotor (not shown) inside a decorative housing 102, a rotatable flywheel104 depending from the motor, a plurality of blade arms 106 (also knownas blade brackets, blade arms, blade holders, or flanges) each of whichis used to hold a corresponding blade 108 (also known as paddles orwings). In other embodiments, a rotor (not shown) is an alternative toblade irons to receive and secure the blades 108. Many ceiling fans alsoinclude one or more downlights 110 (also known as a light kit) foradding ambient light to a room, and/or an uplight(s) (not shown) forprojecting light onto the ceiling for aesthetic reasons (i.e., to createambiance). Ceiling fans are either directly mounted to the ceiling usinga mounting kit (not shown) or indirectly via a downrod (not shown). Formost residential ceiling fans, blade spans, meaning the distance fromone blade tip to the opposite blade tip or the overall diameter of afan's blades while in motion, range from 29 to 54 inches, the mostpopular being the 52-inch model. The size of the blades themselves willtypically range from 19 inches to 36 inches long, and from 4 inches to10 inches wide, but can be significantly longer and/or wider on modelsdesigned for commercial or industrial applications. The blades 108 ofceiling fans are typically made of wood, plywood, iron, aluminum orplastic, and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and surfacetextures. For instance, so-called “tropical fans” include blades thatsimulate palm leaves, There are also aftermarket blade attachments thatare mounted to (i.e., underneath) the fan blades to change theiraesthetic appearance.

With a typical ceiling fan construction having been described above,reference is now made to FIG. 2 in which there is illustrated aperspective view of a first embodiment of the subject ceiling fancleaning article designated generally by reference numeral 10(hereinafter also referred to as “cleaning article” and “cleaningapparatus”). Cleaning article 10 is comprised of an elongated dustattracting sleeve 12 sized to receive therein a ceiling fan blade 108.For example, sleeve 12 may have a length of 20 inches to 37 inches long,and, a width of 5 inches to 11 inches wide to accommodate conventionalsized fan blades, but can be significantly longer and/or wider toaccommodate blade of ceiling fans having oversized blades such as thoseintended for use in commercial or industrial applications. Sleeve 12 iscomprised of a top panel 14 partially joined to a bottom panel 16 toform an open end 18, a closed end 20 and a void or space therebetweensized to receive a fan blade therein with relatively little freedom ofmovement. Top panel 14 and bottom panel 16 each include a preferably butnot essentially dust attracting outer facing surface 14A and 16A,respectively, and a dust attracting inner facing (Le., fan blade facing)surface 14B and 16B, respectively. As should be readily appreciated, thesleeve can be easily constructed from a single sheet of material byfolding the sheet over upon itself along a fold line or “juncture” 22 toform top panel 14 (also referred to herein as “first panel”) and bottompanel 16 (also referred to herein as “second panel”) the overlappingfree side edges 24 and trailing edges 26 of which are joined togetherusing a variety of joinder means including, but not limited tostitching, gluing, chemical bonding, thermal bonding, ultrasonicbonding, physical bonding, or some combination thereof. In alternateembodiments, side edges 24 and trailing edges 26 may be folded across aportion of either top panel 14 or bottom panel 16 before being joinedtogether to create a neater appearance and, more importantly, a superiorseal between them. As an alternative to a single sheet of materialfolded over upon itself, two separate sheets may be attached to oneanother in which case fold line 22 would be replaced with a second pairof overlapping side edges (not shown) joined together via any of theabove-mentioned joinder means. As yet another alternative, sleeve 12 maybe comprised of a tube of material with no longitudinal side edges, butrather having a continuous inner surface uninterrupted by any seams,folds or the like.

Sleeve 12 has a relatively flat or “planar” profile and terminates atone end in opening 28 is sized to receive therethrough a ceiling fanblade 108 in non-contacting fashion (i.e. opening 28 is large enough toaccommodate entry of a fan blade therethrough without the fan bladetouching the leading edge 30 of sleeve 12 that defines opening 28.Having an opening sized to receive fan blades in non-contacting fashionis important to prevent open end 18 of cleaning article 10 fromdisturbing dust accumulated on the blade surfaces. In preferredembodiments, bottom panel 16 extends a distance past open end 18 ofsleeve 12 to form flange 32. Flange 32 serves two purposes. First,flange 32 catches any dust that may become dislodged from blade 108 bythe leading edge 30 of opening 28 as sleeve 12 is slipped over blade 108for cleaning as more fully described below. Second, flange 32 may befolded back along fold line 42 over a portion of open end 18 to closeopening 28 thereby permanently trapping within sleeve 12 dust depositedtherein during the cleaning process. A variety of sealing means may beemployed to fix flange 32 in place once closed such as, by way ofexample only, hook and loop tape 40 mounted to abutting surfaces offlange 32 and open end 18 of sleeve 12. Other methods employ the use ofpeel-off adhesive strips or interlocking rails such as are found inplastic storage bags. In other embodiments, opening 28 may be closedwithout the use of flange 32. For instance, opening 28 may be closedusing a drawstring in manner well known in the art, or alternatively,support means 34 may be reshaped under manual pressure to close opening28.

In order to keep opening 28 from closing upon itself, a variety ofopening support means 34 may be fitted around at least a portion of thecircumference of opening 28. In one embodiment, opening support meanscomprises a length of pliable material such as wire or soft plastic thatcan be easily bent into the desired shape, such as oval, ovoid, circularor the like, so that a fan blade 108 can easily be passed therethrough.In the example illustrated, a portion of top panel 14 is folded backover itself forming a flap 36 under which a length of wire 34 is securedin place. Other means of attaching opening support means 34 in place mayalso be employed as well known to those skilled in the art.

In order to afford sleeve 12 with the ability to retain a relativelyplanar shape, longitudinal support means may be incorporated into sleeve12 and may extend into flange 32 (as shown). In one embodiment,longitudinal support means is comprised of one or more pliable supportmembers 38 comprised of a rigid or pliable material such as wire or softplastic, for instance, attached to or incorporated into sleeve 12 alongits longitudinal axis, preferably but not essentially between abuttingsurfaces of top panel 14 and bottom panel 16. Although illustrated inFIG. 2 to be located proximate free side edges 24 and juncture 22, itmay be appreciated that longitudinal support means may be incorporatedanywhere along the length of top panel 14, bottom panel 16, or both.

The materials of construction of the subject cleaning article 10generally, and top panel 14 and bottom panel 16 in particular. aregenerally known in the art and can be formed by any material ormaterial-forming process known, including woven and non-woven materials,polymers, gels, extruded materials, laminates, layered materials whichare bonded together integral and thus form a co-material, fusedmaterials, extruded materials, air laying, etc. Some such materials arefully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,231,685 and 7,566,671 thedisclosures of which is expressly incorporated by reference to theextent they are not inconsistent with the teachings of the subjectinvention. In a preferred embodiment, top panel 14 and bottom panel 16are comprised of fibers defining at least one cleaning surface such asdust attracting inner (blade facing) surfaces 14B and 16B, respectively.The panels 14,16 may, for example, include a plurality of fluffednonwoven fabrics made of synthetic resins, which may be welded to oneanother. The panels may include fibers constructed from (polyethylene),PP (polypropylene) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and conjugatedfibers of PE/PET or PEE/PP (e.g., conjugated fibers of a core/sheathstructure having a core of PP or PET and a sheath of PE). The nonwovenfabric may be a thermal bonded nonwoven fabric, a spun-bonded nonwovenfabric or a spun-laced nonwoven fabric. Alternatively panels 14,16 maybe formed of a thermoplastic resin film such as a PE film or a PP film.Of course, it is also possible that panels 14,16 are formed of alaminated sheet of a nonwoven fabric and a resin film.

In order to increase the surface area of dust collecting surfaces,especially but not solely those inside sleeve 12, at least one of toppanel 14 and bottom panel 16 may include a plurality of fibers, fiberbundles or other similar dust attracting members 42 projecting from atleast a portion of at least one sleeve surface including one or more ofouter surface 14A, outer surface 16A, inner (blade facing) surface 148and inner (blade facing) surface 16B as best shown in FIG. 3. As shouldbe readily appreciated, increasing the surface area of these structuresincreases the amount of dust that may be trapped with cleaning article10. Increased surface area is especially important for inner surface 148of top panel 14 because the greatest amount of dust accumulates on thetop of each fan blade 108 with which inner surface 14B will come intocontact.

Other means may also be employed to increase dust uptake by the subjectcleaning article 10. It should be recognized that fibers within top andbottom panels 14,16, as ell as those that comprise dust attractingmembers 42, can take a variety of forms and orientations to increasevarious performance characteristics of cleaning article 10 as describedmore fully in the above-referenced patents. They may also include orcomprise absorbent materials such as acrylic based polymers applied as acoating or turned into fibers directly. The absorbent materials increasethe overall absorbency of the fibers, prevent the fibers from packingclose together into a fiber mass, and enhance the friction of thefibers. As is also well known in the art, these structures could alsoinclude a piezoelectric crystal to impart an electrostatic charge duringuse to increase dust retention.

Finally, cleaning article 10 may be modified with a variety ofapplicator receiving means (not shown) for the temporary engagement ofhand-held applicator devices designed to facilitate reaching fan blades108 and/or mounting of article 10 there around for cleaning.

Method of Use

In use, the user first manually shapes opening 28 to a configurationthat accommodates receiving the fan blade(s) to be cleaned therethroughby bending opening support means to the desired shape. Next, one or moreof the outer surfaces 14A,16A and inner surfaces 148, 16B of top panel14 and bottom panel 16 may optionally be sprayed with water or acommercially available dust-attractant fluid including but not limitedto those identified in the above-referenced '671 patent, namely Pledge®Multi-Surface Cleaner, Pledge® Wood and Glass Cleaner, End Dust®,Fantastic® all purpose cleaner, Windex® glass cleaner, anti-bacterialssuch as Oust® or Lysol®, fragrances such as Glade®, leather or vinyltreatment such as Armor All®, fabric protectors such as Scotch Guard®,or fabric fresheners such as those manufactured by S.C. Johnson & Son,Inc. of Racine, Wis., or Fabreze®. The fluid may alternatively generallycomprise, without limitation: any all-purpose cleaner, oil or waterbased dust inhibitor, anti-static, anti-microbial, antibacterial,sanitizing and de-odorizing agent, dusting agent, glass cleaner,furniture polish, leather or vinyl treatment, other cleaning agent, wax,polish or shining agent, softening agent, friction-enhancing compound,perfumes, dish cleaner, soap, insect repellent or insect barrier, dustmite killer or repellant, abrasive cleaner, shoe polish, pet sanitationproducts, etc., Optional longitudinal support means 38 are shaped toafford sleeve 12 with an overall flat or planar shape. Cleaning article10 is then raised to be in coaxial alignment with the first fan blade tobe cleaned and is then slipped carefully over the fan blade until sleeve12 covers the entire blade 108 as shown in FIG. 4. Positioned thusly,the user then manually “polishes” the fan blade by moving sleeve backand forth axially, transversely and otherwise to cause inner surface14B, 16B to contact the blade and transfer all dust collected on theblade to the interior of sleeve 12. Sleeve 12 may be gently squeezedagainst the blade surface during this process. Prior to removal ofcleaning article 10 from fan blade 108, opening support means should bemanipulated until opening 28 is fit snuggly around the fan blade. Openend 18 of sleeve 12 may be gently squeezed against the blade surfaceduring withdrawal of sleeve 12 from the blade. Upon removal, the processis repeated until all blades have been cleaned. After the last fan bladehas been cleaned sleeve 12 should be closed with closure means 40 topermanently trap all dust inside. As should be readily appreciated, theouter surfaces 14A,16A of sleeve 12 may then be used to clean theremaining surfaces of the fan 100. Cleaning article 10 may then bediscarded.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theparticular embodiments herein set forth, it is understood that thepresent disclosure has been made only by way of example and thatnumerous changes in details of construction may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope ofthe invention should not be limited by the foregoing specifications, butrather only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed as being new, useful and desired to be protected byLetters Patent of the United States is as follows:
 1. An article forcleaning ceiling fans having a housing and a plurality of fan blades,the article comprising: a) an elongated sleeve having an open end, aclosed end, at least one exterior cleaning surface, and at least oneinterior cleaning surface, said sleeve being sized to receive therein aceiling fan blade, and b) closure means for closing said open end ofsaid sleeve to prevent dust removed from the fan blades from escapingfrom said sleeve.
 2. An article for cleaning ceiling fans having ahousing and a plurality of fan blades, the article comprising: a) anelongated sleeve comprising a top panel partially joined to a bottompanel to form an open end, a closed end, and a void therebetween, saidvoid being sized to receive therein a ceiling fan blade, said top paneland said bottom panel each having an inner facing surface for cleaningfan blades and an outer facing surface for cleaning the remainingexposed surface areas of ceiling fans, and b) closure means for closingsaid open end of said sleeve to prevent dust removed from the fan bladesfrom escaping from said sleeve.
 3. The ceiling fan cleaning article ofclaim 1, wherein said open end of said sleeve includes an opening sizedto receive therethrough a ceiling fan blade in non-contacting fashion.4. The ceiling fan cleaning article of claim 2, wherein said open end ofsaid sleeve includes an opening sized to receive therethrough a ceilingfan blade in non-contacting fashion.
 5. The ceiling fan cleaning articleof claim 3, wherein said open end further includes a flange extending adistance from said sleeve below said opening.
 6. The ceiling fancleaning article of claim 4, wherein said open end further includes aflange extending a distance from said sleeve below said opening.
 7. Theceiling fan, cleaning article of claim 3, further including openingsupport means for retaining said o peeing in a desired shape.
 8. Theceiling fan cleaning article of claim 4, further including openingsupport means for retaining said opening in a desired shape.
 9. Theceiling fan cleaning article of claim 5, further including openingsupport means for retaining said opening in a desired shape.
 10. Theceiling fan cleaning article of claim 6, further including openingsupport means for retaining said opening in a desired shape.
 11. Theceiling fan cleaning article of claim 1, further including longitudinalsupport means attached to or incorporated into said sleeve along alongitudinal axis for retaining said sleeve in a relatively planarshape.
 12. The ceiling fan cleaning article of claim 2, furtherincluding longitudinal support means attached to or incorporated intosaid sleeve along a longitudinal axis for retaining said sleeve in arelatively planar shape.
 13. The ceiling fan cleaning article of claim3, further including longitudinal support means attached to orincorporated into said sleeve along a longitudinal axis for retainingsaid sleeve in a relatively planar shape.
 14. The ceiling fan cleaningarticle of claim 4, further including longitudinal support meansattached to or incorporated into said sleeve along a longitudinal axisfor retaining said sleeve in a relatively planar shape.
 15. The ceilingfan cleaning article of claim 5, further including longitudinal supportmeans attached to or incorporated into said sleeve along a longitudinalaxis for retaining said sleeve in a relatively planar shape.
 16. Theceiling fan cleaning article of claim 6, further including longitudinalsupport means attached to or incorporated into said sleeve along alongitudinal axis for retaining said sleeve in a relatively planarshape.
 17. The ceiling fan cleaning article of claim 7, furtherincluding longitudinal support means attached to or incorporated intosaid sleeve along a longitudinal axis for retaining said sleeve in arelatively planar shape.
 18. The ceiling fan cleaning article of claim8, further including longitudinal support means attached to orincorporated into said sleeve along a longitudinal axis for retainingsaid sleeve in a relatively planar shape.
 19. The ceiling fan cleaningarticle of claim 9, further including longitudinal support meansattached to or incorporated into said sleeve along a longtudinal axisfor retaining said sleeve in a relatively planar shape.
 20. The ceilingfan cleaning article of claim 10, further including longitudinal supportmeans attached to or incorporated into said sleeve along a longitudinalaxis for retaining said sleeve in a relatively planar shape.